The present disclosure relates to complex discrete manufacturing environments, and in particular to the analysis of waiting times for production tasks that correspond to multiple orders to be produced using shared resources.
The total duration, or lead time, of a production task in complex discrete manufacturing consists of the time the task must wait before it can begin processing (the waiting time) and the time the task actually takes for processing (the processing time). Complex discrete manufacturing refers to manufacturing to produce a relatively large number of orders of different kinds, where a significant number of orders require a considerable number of production tasks. In practice, waiting times are often much longer than processing times and therefore dominate the overall lead time of a production order made up of a number of different production tasks.
Waiting times result from conflicting demands from various tasks on shared manufacturing resources such as machine tools and human operators of machine tools, large lot sizes, and unpredictable changes in processing times and unpredictable changes in the times at which necessary raw materials or components arrive at the manufacturing plant. In a highly dynamic manufacturing environment with inherent uncertainties and variability, particularly in complex manufacturing, it can be very difficult to predict waiting times for all tasks. Instead, it is typical for production planners who use Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) systems to resort to predefined fixed lead times that include extra waiting time to provide a cushion for process variability. However, this practice fails to consider that lead times depend on the actual load of the manufacturing plant. Consequently, this practice results in unnecessarily high estimates of lead times, high work in progress (WIP) levels, unnecessary overtime costs, and chaotic conditions on the shop floor.
In the case of a high-volume production line, waiting times can be estimated by using steady-state analysis queuing-network techniques. But steady state analysis is not applicable for estimating waiting times at manufacturing resources in a plant engaged in “high-mix” complex manufacturing because of the highly dynamic arrival times, lot sizes and processing times.